Leather-splitting machine



lA-SAPFORD.

LEATHER SPL'ITTING MACHINE.

atented Oct. 16, 1889.

.NO. 413,093. v

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet '3.

J. A. SAPFORD.

LEATHER SPLITTING MAOHINE.

N0. 413 093. Patented 0 [Illll IIIIIII N. PETERS. PhnlmLillm ra hu. Wanhi n nnnnn c Unrrnn STATES Parent Orrrcm JOSEPH A. SAFFORD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS LEATHER-SPLITTBNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 413,093, dated October 15, 1889.

' Application filed May 25, 1889. erial No. 312,078. (No model.)

To whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. SAFFORD, of

Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather-Splittin g Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to leather-splitting machines employing an adjustable gage-roll, which is rigidly supported at any position to which it may be adjusted, a yielding pressureroll, and a splitting-knife to which the leather is presented by said rolls.

The invention consists in certain improved means for adjusting and supporting the gage roll, and in various other improvements in the construction of machines of this class, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top view of my improved leathersplitting machine. Figs. 2 and 3 represent elevations of the same from opposite ends of the machine. Fig, 4 represents a section on line 0000, Fig. 1. 1 1g. 5 represents a perspective View of a part of the splittingknife and one of the gages or stops which limit the forward movement of the splitting-knife The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the splitting knife, which is supported by the bed-plate b, the latter forming a part of the supportingframe.

0 represents the plate, which is attached to the supporting-frame at the front thereof and supports the leather as it passes to the splittin g-knifc.

d 6 represent the rolls, between which the leather passes to the knife. The upper roll, which is the gage-roll d, is vertically adjustable by means hereinafter described, to determine the thickness of leather passing between it and the knife, and is rigidly sup ported at any position to which it may be ad justed.

The means for supporting the gage rell con= stitute an important part of my invention, and comprise a bifurcated frame or yoke f, composed of side arms 2 2, and extensions 3 3 of said arms connecting the latter with the forward end a of said frame. The arms 2 2 are pivoted at g g to supports h h, hereinafter referred to, said arms containing the bearin gs for the gageroll. The said yoke or frame is adjusted by means consisting of a screwthreaded bolt 21, pivoted at j to an arm is on the supporting-frame, and passing through an orifice m in the swinging end a of the yoke or frame f, and having a nut which bears on the upper side of said yoke or frame and holds the same against the pressure of a spring 0, the tendency of which is to press the yoke or frame upwardly, and thus raise the gage-roll, the nut n, which is located about at the longitudinal center of the machine,

holding or supporting the yoke and gage-roll at a height which is determined by the adj ustment of said nut.

It will be seen that the yoke or frame supporting the gage-roll enables said roll to be adjusted simultaneously and uniformly at both ends by the operation of the one nut 07,, instead of being adjusted by independent adj usting devices, one at one end of the roll and the other at the other end, as heretofore; hence much time is saved iii-adjusting the gage-roll, and the liability heretofore existing of adjusting the gage-roll out of parallelism with the knife, or, in other words, of making one end higher than the other by inadvert ence or lack of skill on the part of the opera tor, is avoided.

I prefer to strengthen the yoke or frame by a cross-bar 5, connecting its arms over the gage-roll. Said yoke, with its cross-bar, is preferably cast in one piece; but it is obvious that it may be made in two or more pieces, suitably connected at the forward end 4, through which the bolt t'passes, or elsewhere.

The yoke or frame-is here shown as curved, so that its forward end 4: and the adjustingnut 41. above the same are below the upper surfaceof the table 0, so that said nut and the forward end of the yoke do not interfere with the leather as it passes to the knife.

The supports h h, to which the rear ends of the arms of the yoke are pivoted at g g, are heads formed on bolts 9 g, which. are adapted to slide vertically in sockets formed in cars g on the supporting-frame, and are vertically adjustable by means of springs r, interposed between said ears and the knife.

the heads hand nutsp on the bolts, bearing against the under sides of the ears, and holding the heads 7t against the upward pressure of the springs r. By adjusting the nuts p the heads or supports h may be vertically adjusted, as may be desired.

The object of the vertical adjustment of the heads h and of the pivots of the yoke or frame f is to enable the gage-roll to be adjusted to and made parallel with the edge of the knife, if, as often is the case, the inclination of the knife-edge is altered by grinding, it being very difficult, if not impossible, to grind the knife so as to keep its edge absolutely parallel with its sides.

' The yielding pressure-roll e co-operates with the gage-roll d in presenting the leather to Said pressure-roll is journaled in the free ends of two arms orlevers it, the opposite ends of which are pivoted at u to the ears or projections g on the supporting-frame. Said arms and the roll journaled therein are supported and pressed upwardly by springs v, interposed between said arms and sockets in the supporting-frame. The springs impart an upward yielding pressure to the roll e. The extent of the upward movement imparted to the said roll 6 may be determined by ad justable stop-screws w in the supporting frame, arranged to bear against the arms 1. and prevent their upward movement beyond the point to which said screws are adjusted.

Power is applied to the rolls d a through a shaft A, journaled in the arms of the yoke or frame f, and provided with a balance-wheel B, having a crank 01' handle, a pinion C on said shaft meshing with a gear-wheel D on the gage-roll cl, a pinion E on the opposite end of said shaft, an intermediate pinion F on a stud affixed to an ear F on the yoke or frame f, and a gear-wheel G on the pressureroll 6 meshing with the intermediate pinion F. The rotation of the shaft A communicates motion to the gage-roll through the pinion O and gear D, and to the pressure-roll through the pinion E, intermediate pinion F, and gear G. It will be observed that the shaft A and the intermediate pinion F are supported by and move with the yoke or frame f, so that they are raised and lowered with the gageroll when the latter is adjusted; hence the adjustment of said gage-roll causes no change in the relative position of the pinion O and gear D and of the pinion E and intermediate pinion F. The intermediate pinion F is lo cated between the pressure-roll e and the pivots 111,011 which said roll swings, so that the depth of engagement of the teeth of the pinion F with those of the gear G is not varied by the upward and downward movements of the pressure-roll.

The knife a is secured upon the bed I) by a clamping-bar II, formed on or attached to arms pressed down thereupon by screws L L entering the bed I).

M M represent adjustable stop or gage pieces, which are attached to the bed-plate at opposite ends of the knife by screws P, passing through longitudinal slots Q in the said pieces. On the forward ends of the pieces M are inwardly-projecting shoulders M, which bear against the cutting-edge of the knife at the ends thereof and act as stops to determine the position of the knife when the same is moved forward into contact with said shoulders.

In operating this machine the thickness of the shaved leather is determined by the adjustment of the gage-roll, and the shavings removed by the knife pass between the knife and the pressure-roll, the latter rising and falling to conform to inequalities or variations in the thickness of the leather.

I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction here shown, but may vary the same. For example, a nut on the screw 1', under the gage-roll-supporting frame f, may be used, instead of the spring 0, to hold said frame against the adjusting-nut at. Other equally obvious changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

The machine is here shown as arranged so that the leather is fed horizontally between the rolls d a to the knife; but it is obvious that the arrangement may be such that the leather may pass vertically from the rolls to the knife, as shown in Letters Patent No. 305,240, issued to me September 16, 1884.

I claim- I 1. In a leather-splitting machine, the combination, with a splitting-knife and a press ure-roll, of a gage-roll,the frame or yoke supporting the gage-roll and composed of the side arms 2 2, pivoted to the supportingframe at their rear ends, and the cross-piece 3, connecting the outer portions of said arms with each other, the screw-threaded rod 1', pivotally connected with the frame of the machine and passing through an opening in the central portion. of the cross-piece 3, a nut on said rod constituting an adjustable stop or support for the gage-roll-supporting frame or yoke, and a spring whereby said frame or yoke is held against said nut, as set forth.

2. In a leather-splitting machine, the combination, with the pressure-roll, the knife, and the leather supporting table, of the gage-roll, the supporting-frame made as one piece and composed of the side arms 2 2, in which the gage-roll is journaled, said arms being pivoted to the supporting-frame at one side of the gage-roll, and the connecting portion 3 3, curved downwardly and terminating in the end 4, which is below the table and looated at the opposite side of the gage-roll from. the pivoted ends of said arms, as set forth.

3, In a leather-splitting machine, the combination of the supporting-frame, the gage roll, the adjustable gage-roll-supporting arms 2 2, pivoted to said frame, the pressure-roll, the arms 15 t, pivoted to the supporting-frame and carrying the pressure-roll, the gears D G, attached, respectively, to the gage-roll and the pressure-roll, the shaft A, journaled in the gage roll supporting arms between the gage-roll and the pivots of said arms and provided at one end with a pinion C, meshing with the gear D on the gage-roll, and at the other end with a pinion E, and the intermediate pinion F, mounted on a stud supported by one of the gage-roll-supporting arms and meshing with the pinionE and the gear G on the pressure-roll, said intermediate pinion being located between the pressure-roll and the pivots that connect the carrying-arms of said roll with the supporting-frame, the arrangement of said shaft A, pinion O E F, and gears D G being such that the operative engagement of said pinions and gears is not affected by the movements of the rolls, as set forth.

4. The combination of the bed 6, the splitting-knife Ct, the clamping-plate hating the arms I, hinged to fixed ears on the bed, and the screws engaged with the bed and having heads bearing on said arms I, whereby said plate is pressed upon the knife, as set forth.

5. In a leather-splitting machine, the combination, with the knife and the pressureroll, of the gageroll, the frame in which said roll is journaled, the vertically-movable supports h h, to which said frame is pivoted, said supports being located at one side of the gageroll, means for vertically adjusting said supports, and an adjusting device for the for ward end of said frame located at the opposite side of the gage-roll from the supports it h, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 21st day of May, A.

JOSEPH A. SAFFOBD. WVitnesses:

C. F. BROWN,

A. D. HARRISON. 

